AfricaPress-Tanzania: UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni and his South Sudan counterpart, Mr Salva Kiir have expressed their passion to have an all-encompassing East African Community (EAC) in all sectors.
The two leaders talked of the inclusive partnership as the new EAC Secretariat has started taking swift measures to address concerns regarding intra-EAC trade, specifically bottlenecks across the six partners’ state borders.
The spirit was shown by General Museveni and Mr Kiir on different occasions when the leaders met and discussed issues with the new EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mathuki in Kampala.
President Museveni, who was also currently sworn-in as Ugandan president after defending his seat, took to Twitter, divulging what they had discussed with the EAC head of day-to-day business and his delegation when they met.
He spoke of a need for East Africans to have a common market of which, he is of an opinion that is the most direct course to create wealth and jobs for the people of the bloc.
“I held discussions with a delegation led by Mr Peter Muthuki, the Secretary-General of the East African Community this afternoon (Friday).
I elaborated on the need for a common market for East Africa, which I believe is the most direct route to creating wealth and jobs for our people,” said President Museveni.
President Museveni directed the SG to focus on Agri-business, industries, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and service as strategic sectors to create wealth and jobs for the people of East Africa.
He believes that a united East Africa and Africa at large is the best mode of ensuring the prosperity of the people of Uganda and beyond.
He is referred as a peace finding father of Uganda and is a staunch supporter of the integration agenda, going an extra mile drumming for the envisioned East African Federation.
Ten days ago, Mr Museveni noted that with the integration, the region will become competitive in the global economy while failure by the respective partner states to form a stronger, more cohesive bloc with a bigger market would be disastrous for the region in the long run.
On his part, President Kiir who met Dr Mathuki in a hotel in Kampala underscored the importance of the partner states to work together as a Community.
He also called upon the member countries to ensure their participation in statutory meetings for timely decision making on matters pertaining to the integration agenda.
The leader of the newest EAC member further pledged his support to the SG during his tenure that started last month.
He called on the EAC Secretariat to support the participation of South Sudan’s private sector in the affairs of the Community. He also accepted a request from the SG to visit Juba and brief him on the status of the Integration Agenda.
The two presidents expressed their views a few days after President Samia Suluhu Hassan talked of the importance of integration as well as directing removal of trade barriers with Uganda and Kenya. In the same spirit, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta issued such directives for imports from Tanzania.
The Political Federation is the ultimate pillar in the EAC integration process, being preceded by the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union in that order.
The Summit of EAC Heads of State in May 2017 adopted a Political Confederation as the transitional model to the Political Federation.
